Original Gerber Baby Meets The Adorable 2018 Winner And It's Just Too Cute!

Just about everyone knows the Gerber Baby. From 1927-2010, Ann Turner Cook’s charcoal-sketched face was on every product Gerber sold. For 83 years, Ann was the face of the company until Gerber decided to hold an annual photo contest to search for a new fresh face to represent the brand. Hundreds of thousands of images of adorable babies started flooding in and each of the seven winners (technically eight because a set of twins won in 2013) but none have captivated the nation quite like 2018’s winner.

More than 140,000 entries poured in last year but one face in particular that stood out from the rest. He’s one-year-old Lucas Warren from Dalton, Georgia. Lucas’ parents, Cortney and Jason, almost didn’t even enter Lucas in the contest because they weren’t sure how others would receive him but Gerber fell in love with his bright, infectious smile – and the rest of us followed suit.

“He’s very outgoing and never meets a stranger,” Cortney said. “He loves to play, loves to laugh and loves to make other people laugh.”

Clearly, the Gerber execs felt that too, but there’s something else about Lucas that is garnering attention from around the globe: He has Down syndrome.

Bill Partyka, the president and CEO of Gerber, said, “Lucas’ winning smile and joyful expression won our hearts this year, and we are all thrilled to name him our 2018 Spokesbaby.” Partyka also called Lucas “the perfect fit” for the company’s mission statement that “Every baby is a Gerber Baby.”